Happy Holidays!

Well, I had an extended time off with the crazy NE weather and losing power for four days. The extra week won't hurt me and I'm back running again. It feels good to be back and I can now start building a base in prep for the new year. My BAA application is in and that's always a reminder that marathon training begins Jan 1st. I've managed to gain a decent amount of weight - it's hard to believe I'm actually 17 pounds (almost 8 kilos!) heavier than I was the day I left for France... and yes I was very thin then and not so thin now. I have been told by professional athletes that it is okay to gain the weight when in off-season, but I think it is time for the scale to go in the other direction.

Anyway, I'll post a recap of 2008 with some points on my best races, experiences, etc. I hope everyone has a great time-off and is or has gotten some time off and is looking toward events next year. I can't wait to start the real training again! Only a couple of weeks.

-Kyle

Off Season - The 2008 Wrap-up

I'm officially in off-season and have not really run the last 10 days. I have gained at least 2 kilos and will gain a lot more if not careful. Swimming is going well , but still not enough time in the pool. Now is a great time for me to take the time off! Plan is to ease back into running around mid-December. Hard core activity starts Jan 1 and this time off makes me want to train my head-off!

Hope everyone is looking at time off, which is inevitable around the holidays. Big races for me next year; definitely Boston in April and LP July!!!! 2009 is definitely my year and I'm ready take them all down!

I'll recap 2008 in a week or so. Rock on!

-Kyle

Calling It A Year

Covered with mud, the Lowell Cyclocross was a blast. It was a challenge riding after all the rain, but I approached it with the right frame of mind - to have fun! That said, I'm calling it a year. I will run the Ayer 5K Thanksgiving race with my 8 year old daughter - her 1st 5K. Next week I'll ride the course and hang around and drink beer with the boys at the Sterling cyclocross. I will then take a three week respite from running and focus on other things; swimming? I have yet to swim more than two day a week. Need to figure out a room by the pool and get serious. Any way, the off-season approaches and it is always a time I struggle with, but I may push up the '09 start time to around the holidays and get back in gear early. I have big plans for the Boston marathon and Lake Placid 2009. I want to go to an entire new level and break all the barriers thought impossible! Hope everyone is concluding their season and is starting to think about taking a rest as the Pros are doing it and it is good for the body. It has been a long year - almost 11 months of training this year! and it is easy for me to call it a year and take a break! -Kyle

Manchester Marathon Race Report

5Th Overall
Official Chip Time: 2:56:59
28th Marathon (PR still Boston 2007 2:53:11)

This was big race for me, having never made podium at a marathon before and certainly not at a race this big. The whole race was broadcast live on Manchester TV Channel 7.

This course was HARD. I had been warned that it is a hilly and challenging course, and not to disturb the Boston Marathon gods, but this was the hardest marathon I have ever run. The weather was of course blustery and cold with a strong headwind at times, which didn't help the pace. I'll still take these conditions over warm day any day!

After the race I had come over to the officials to ask if they had a results listing for the marathon, when I heard Greg Meyer call out "Kyle Bowers from Boxborough, MA." I came out to the podium confused and actually had to ask the race director, who explained to me that they were doing the top five finishers male and female. We all posed for the media snapping pictures - wow! - what a rush. And then I found out that I had won a couple of hundred dollars in prize money! - another first. I also got to chat with Greg Meyer (last American to win the Boston Marathon 1983) for some time, which was really cool.

It has been an up and down season for me. 8 weeks ago I did my first 3 hour run, not knowing if my Achilles would start to bother me after the first hour. It didn't and I got some confidence that I could start endurance training again. I then trained as hard as possible for the next seven weeks and then stopped. Certainly, not a traditional training period for me, but my running came back. Okay, enough tooting my own horn, the race report:

Everyone (half and full) started at the same time, which means you don't know who you are running against until after the first half. Quite a few Kenyans present at the start and a big mob of fast runners. I had heard afterwards that several marathoners tried to stay with the half marathoners and later paid. This course leaves downtown and heads right for the hills. The hills in the first few miles weren't bad, but we had a constant headwind. After several miles I realized I wasn't anywhere near my pace. The race then does a section of rocky trail which zig-zags (bye, bye marathon pace) and then back onto the roads and more hills. I'm now looking at my watch ... I'm way off pace by minutes, thinking I will be lucky to break 3 hours! More hills, sharp turns and roller coaster descents. The last 1.5 miles finally we come down out of the hills, almost all gradual downhill or flat and I manage to make up a lot of time. I stay right (don't look at the 1/2 marathon finish) and pass the half in around 1:27. The spotter at the half yells out "tenth!" I have three guys in front of me and can see no other runners. I reel them in over the next 1 mile and we run the next four or five miles together. A couple of times someone drops off, but comes back. At one point I'm saying to myself "they're dropping me." We stayed together and the pace felt fast. Then the bad joke, we go from some modest hills and flat to a hill that goes up and keeps going. I am now swearing I am never come back to this GD race again, ever! We round the corner and OMG - there is still more hill - at least 1/3mile! Finally, finally we hit 19miles and are running downhill toward St Anselms college. At 20 miles I pass a Kenyan who is walking while I pass - everyone cheer!!! I then drop the guys I have been running with for over 5 miles. Then at 21miles another victim of the first half is having leg cramps. I can now see a young guy who is at least 200 meters away, but I am reeling. He doesn't look good and I catch him on a downhill right after 22 miles. I am now running alone with several guys behind me that I know are real good runners. A long stretch ahead and I can see no one. I am still running hard trying to put a surge on. I know they aren't far behind because I hear the clapping behind me. I am trying to push and want to stay out of their sight. I know if I can stay out of their sight that will reduce the likelihood of a late race challenge. I'm getting a zing though and it feels like I am leading the Boston Marathon. I actually had someone yell "fifth!" - but it didn't sink in. Running hard across the footbridge with less than two miles I continue to push. Finally downtown and 25 miles - up another sharp hill, what a surprise. At the top I take my first look over my shoulder. If there is anyone within 30 seconds of me I wanted to know right then. I would rather try to push the first half of the last mile and see what happens rather than them closing on me, but no one was there. I had a half mile of confusion, no marshal or cops - I was actually thinking I might be off course, but wasn't and then proceed to run in the median of a street loaded with traffic and then the end... watching the clock in the final ten seconds of 2:56 I pushed hard with my hamstring doing weird cramping things. It felt good. Maybe it wasn't such a bad race after all!!

Here is a link to the Union Leader article:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Ndaya+wins+Manchester+City+Marathon&articleId=443be298-29d4-40f3-8c8a-ab92db5bfcf3

Cheers!

-Kyle

Next Race Manchester Marathon

Yeah, yeah, I know - it's been a long time since my last post. I know there was a lot of negative sentiment in my last post. All that stuff about not endurance training, etcetera, etcetera. Well ... I've battled back and now my running has been revived. Losing at the West Acton Octoberfest 5K has also fueled my fire, as afterwards I began training as hard and intense as I could, almost to the level of torture. It has been good for me. I am running well and my speed has come back. It hasn't been a traditional marathon training period, but I think that's okay. I may be as fit as my training before Boston 2007, which yielded good results and a PR. Manchester was late enough in the season that I actually had several weeks of quality training - I could have never been ready for Baystate. Manchester, I know and have been warned, is a very challenging course, not for first time qualifiers. For me, I have nothing to lose and will be laying it all out on the course. There is also prize money for masters, which means I will face quality competition all the way around.

Still on the bike - every single day.

Cheers!

-Kyle

Maybe One More

I may try to squeak in one more race this weekend, but weather forecast is sketchy with Hanna running up the coast. I will wait until last minute to decide as 50 mph winds won't help the bike section of the race. Anyway, no real desire to train, but body rehab has gone well and I am back running, which feels good. I'll continue to go carless as long as I can, so that is also helping my cause. The new cyclocross bike makes for great communiting as I can ride it anywhere I want - road, trail, sand, etc.
Looking for a race this fall, preferably later. I am thinking about maybe a half marathon as I really have never trained just for a half and it might give me a break this year as I am not much interested in getting back into an endurance program. Jan 1 will come soon enough and I would rather do a bunch of smaller races that have lower impact. Also, do some trails races, XC and cyclocross later in the year - keep that bike going!
This was one of those high-mountain towns on the bike course. I don't remember this one exactly, but it looks like these guys are climbing as they leave town. Most of these small towns were packed with people cheering. Probably every single person that lived there as there were a lot of people compared to the size of the town. It was a real trip flying through these at 35+ mph as they were tight roads and had sharp turns that made things very interesting. Cheers!

Tri Season Comes To A Quick End

Probably my final race - big race of the year anyway. Although, there are some short races around in September - I could be tempted!! Cranberry Country Tri will probably do it though, as my cycling fitness seems to have gone down the tubes. The lousy August weather just put a damper on my cycling as I can't remember a ride over 50 miles since Lake Placid weekend. The last two weeks of vacationing has also nailed the coffin on any fitness I had coming of IMF, but my achilles feels better and I think I can start ramping up the running again. I got my insurance check from my car getting totaled (87 yr old guy runs into me head on) and did the right thing; went out and bought a new cyclocross bike ... very nice. Look for me out on the cross scene this year boys! But what about running? I am totally lost. I don't think I have enough time for Baystate. The BAA masters team has withdrawn from defending our title at Winni Relay - total bummer... I need to figure out a plan other then some short races this fall. I certainly need to try to do something about my running speed, which seems to be non-existent this year again. All endurance training and age is not helping my cause. Suggestions?????

Third Race In One Week

I'll keep this post short. Back at it again, three races in one week. I slept about 10.5 hours last night, so to say the least, it has been a long week.

Wildat Sprint Race (Lowell, MA) Results:

7th Overall
2nd AG 40-44
Total Time: 51:53
0.25 mi Swim: 27th 6:24
T1: 1:13
11 mi BIke: 4th 27:37
T2 0:50
2.5mi+ Run: 7th 15:47

Short Analysis: I really had a great race all the way around. I had a great swim (for me). Everyone swam wide at the 2nd turn and I had a straight line to the last buoy with no one in the line. Unfortuantely, there was no elite category and I ended up in the second wave. My bike was fast - 4th fastest I will take any day. Average speed was 23.9 mph - not bad even with some hills on the back side. Run was fast too and I ran down two people in my AG and a lot from the first wave. The negatives: 2nd wave meant crazy passing half way to the first buoy all the way to the end, although having a clear shot to the last buoy really helped me have a good swim. I was way back in the tranistion area - all those guys with single #'s were on the first rail. I had to run all the way back to get my bike and put it back - definitely cost me time. Anyway, those young guys are fast! I wouldn't be able to beat them anyway! I only got beat once the whole day - on the run - the kid was 20 yrs old, but he helped pull me to the finish.

Next big race is Cranberry Triathlon on the 24th. I may stick another race in there, but the next few days will be rest.

Cheers,

-Kyle

First Race Back - Post Ironman France Nice

The IM recovery period is over and back to racing. Last weekend was the Mass State Triathlon Olympic distance. The weather looked to be sketchy and we did get pounded with thunderstorms all weekend, including 3:am the night of the race and I didn't really sleep after 4:am, so it was a sleepy morning.
The race went pretty well. LONG 0.9mi swim and hilly bike and runs, but overall I am pleased. I didn't really have a great segment, but everything went good and fairly consistent. Here are the numbers:

10th overall
3rd Elite
overall time: 2:06:01
0.9mi swim: 24:14
22mi bike: 1:00:57
10K run: 38:50

The bike course has one pretty tough hill, which starts hard, but then tapers off - but it keeps going and going! The second loop my legs were absolutely burning by the time I hit the top. More stupid stuff; I forgot my tools - don't ask me why (because I was trying to get the tow kit onto the new car, so we could haul the camper). No cassette tool means no disc wheel. I think the disc would have helped regardless of the hills.
I'm glad I did the race. Tim (Maxperformance RD) puts on a good show. This is my third of his races and I have nothing but good reports. The campground is also very nice - we got pounded with T&L the second night also, which filled the campsite completely with about 3" of water.

Now for the dumb news; like a knucklehead I had signed up for the Yankee homecoming 10miler on Tuesday. I was definitely still tired and my Achilles still bothering. I didn't have any expectations for the race, but was out way too fast; 5:50, 12:00, 16:30 and 31:30 @ 5miles. That's actually a pretty good 5 miler time, but when 6mi rolled along I felt exhausted and kaboom! The next four miles was a cool down.

Anyway, I am not going to run much and see if I can lose this Achilles thing. I will be racing again at the sprint in Lowell Sunday. Race report to follow.

-Kyle

I will take the heat at Ironman France Nice any day!

The weekend up at Lake Placid was absolutely brutal! The day of the race it rain from start to finish with only a few small breaks. For a total of three inches! I was wet, miserable and shivering, but happy I was not racing. I stayed out as long as I could to cheer my team-mates and friends on, but had to go back to the house to dry my clothes several times. And many thanks to my friends and team-mates for letting my family crash at the house or the whole thing would not have been doable, Our tent was submerged in water after the first night and I would have had to go a long way to find a hotel room. Congrats to my team-mates and friend's - many first timers! and some great performance in those nasty conditions!

Anyway, I am signed up for next year. I need to have a great race as there were even more Europeans this year grabbing slots.

This picture is of this year's swim. I'm some where to the right in one of the chase groups. I really enjoyed swimming in the mediteranean, it's absolutely beautiful. That's something I will remember for a long time. I don't have the opportunity to swim ocean much, although maybe down the Cape next month - if there aren't anymore of those shark reports! Watching those guys bomb down the hills in the Tour brings me back everytime I watch. I will remember the spectators in the small villages yelling "Allez Kyah!" as I whipped by. I guess that's how the real French folks prenounce Kyle - on my bib number as I go by.

I will be racing this weekend at the Mass State Tri in Winchenden. The weather once again looks to be sketchy. I have had enough time off - back to racing. This should be a good race. I hope to finish in the middle of the elites.

Cheers!

-Kyle

Moving On To 2009, Final Thoughts On Ironman France Nice

I'll be heading up to Lake Placid this weekend to signup for 2009. This will be my final year in the 40-44 AG, but I still think I have a shot next year as I again more and more experience in Ironman. This weekend will be enjoyable for me as I will go up and soak it in, seeing how I have done my Ironman for the year. I look forward to getting into the environment and back to swimming, biking and running on the course only for pleasure and activity purposes. I have been ramping back up to things, although the last two weeks has been crazy and it has been difficult to get a lot of training time. Getting away for a long weekend will be good as I will have no distractions. We'll be winging it also, with no place to stay - I think the tent will be going with us and we will camp or find no $$ accomodations. The money has already been spent in Nice.

Some final thoughts on Nice: I really loved the country. If at all possible I would like to move there or maybe be able to live there for a period in some point of my life. I have really enjoyed watching the Tour this year and every time I watch I feel like I am revisitng a little bit.

Some final notes on the race:

Lot's of drafting duing the race. L'arbitre (referee - also on la moto (motorbike)) was more than generous blowing the wistle and motioning with his hands for guys to spread out. I did see a couple of guys get nailed and they deserved it. I think a lot more guys got away with it though.

In hindsight, if I had known that the temps were going to be so high (94deg), I would have left the aero helmet at home. Mine ventilates pretty well, but the added ventilations as it was so hot and it didn't really help on the downhill because the section were so technical and I found that we start to bunch up and be forced to spread-out (non, le prison pour moi - you go to the prison after the bike leg for cheating).

This course is porbably best done on a road bike with clip-ons - although I had no trouble on my bike, there were several times I shifted my mid-section behind the seat, like in a steep mountain bike descent. I di not want to get lanched off that bike! There were too many hairpin turns were you need to deccelerate quickly.

Before trying a course like this, I recommend taking a trip to bike in the Alps or at least go for another week to get acclimated.

This race was a great experience, very well organized and very unique.

Any well. Good luck to all of the 2008 LPers! I will be cheering on.

Next week I resume racing season with some shorter tris (Mass State Olympic 7/27) and some raod races (Newburypost 10mi 7/29).

Cheers!

-Kyle

Race Report - Ironman Nice France

We had a great two weeks in France. It is a vacation that the family will remember and who knows if or when we will ever get the opportunity to go back - with the cost of the trip due to the weak US dollar. It was expensive, but a great trip and I come back feeling like I am living in the wrong country. The people there are very passionate about cycling and with the Alps - I don't have to explain that these guys are great cyclists. There is a reason that Lance Armstrong lived there while racing the Tour.

The traveling part went okay - no lost or damaged bike. I did not get much sleep leading up into the race and had to move all our gear into the villa the night before the race, which was crazy. Nice is beautiful, but a city and the increased traffic with the transition area in the middle of the Promenade des Anglais made getting around difficult. Also, Nice is party town, with beautiful beaches (wink, wink) and that guy playing his guitar and yelling into the amp at 11:00 the night before the race! I thought he was going to ruin my race, but it was only just another six hours of sleep again.

This would be my third Ironman (LP '06 & '07) and the first with an ocean swim. In summary, I though I had a real good race, although the time doesn't reflect it. Conditions and the climate in Nice present a challenge as it was very hot there. I never expected 94 degrees in the Alps (I guess I didn't need those arm warmers I packed in my suitcase) and mid-80s with that blazing hot sun.

Here's the report. I will try not to go on forever:

The Swim:

64:50

I was very comfortable swimming in the Mediterranean the few days leading up to the race. Although on race day, it turned into a washing machine of blue water. All of these mass start swims are the same. I can't sprint fast enough to get ahead and end up right in the mass of bodies converging for the first buoy. I had a smart swim and stayed just wide enough so that I avoided the mosh-pit. No real issues. I got my goggles punched off once and got some sea-water, which immediately turned my stomach, but pretty much the same as all of the other IMs. Running off the rocks into the water on the start hurts a little more than starting in the water.

Anyway, my first sub-65 minute swim - a PR. No one can take that away. I thought I had a dynamite swim and came out of the water fresh and ready to take on the Alps. My swimming has really come a long way (now in my 5th year of swimming - I could not swim freestyle more than 50yds before then).

The bike:

5:40

Who told me I could just show up in France and bike in the Alps? I knew that the climbing would be extremely difficult. I can summarize the climb; my legs were starting to burn just as I passed the 10K to go mark to the top of the mountain. I managed the climb well though, never really had any problem, just kept cranking away. The descents however were something I have never experienced before. The MOST technical descents I have ever done, somewhere between psychotic and suicidal; switchbacks, sharp turns, hair-pins turns. I can only compare it to a motorcycle video game, but if you crash, you go off a 1000 ft. cliff and die! and there were Danger signs. Trying to make that sharp turn and coming one foot from the wall and looking a thousand feet down was very intimidating! and I let the bike fly! Just like everyone else because we are all doing it in the same interest! With all that climbing comes miles of technical descents at high speed. I watched the Tour de France this morning with a special appreciation of the chances those guys take. And I watched a guy almost hit the wall! He went into the rubble right next to the wall slamming on the brake. He had a big smile on his face because he knew he just got out of one easy, only 500ft down over that wall, but I told him "you don't want to be doing that". Post-race rumor has it that one person was seen climbing back over the wall.

One shaky moment; in the first third of the race on the first decent. We bunched up toward the bottom because no one can pass on those crazy turns. We came down into a village with a narrow road and I never saw it and wasn't ready for it; I hit a speed bump which I would have tried to jump. I hit it hard and my rear wheel came way up off the ground, but I hung on to it - all that mtn biking last year paid off. I hit it real hard at about 35mph and luckily hung on - maybe part nerve and part skill, but it was a scary moment. Unfortunately, about 4 seconds later I heard a crash behind and Croix-Rouge ambulance came by as we were once again climbing.

All in all a well managed bike. I was losing lots of liquids as seat poured dwon my face (oh my it was hot) and noticed that guys looked like they rolled their shorts in Margarita salt. Only to look down and see that my shorts were also caked. I had the enduralite tabs though and started taking them because I knew it was going to be a long day. A little bit of a breeze at the top of the mountain as I huffed and puffed due to altitude (How high? I'll post next time), but that would be the only breeze I would feel all day. Another thing I'm not used to La Moto everywhere, weaving in and out bewteen the riders to avoid oncoming traffic, one missing my knuckles by inches!

The run:

4:08

Okay, so I was there for three full days before the race, so I knew that the run would be a problem. I just don't run in the heat well, and that sun is so powerful. I felt pretty good coming out of T2. I had a cramp in my leg with about 8 miles to go on the bike, but I worked it out and it seemed that there would be no issue on the run and there wasn't. I knew that the marathon had to be paced or I would bonk due to the heat. I figured right out of the shoot that it was going to be in the 3:45 to 3:50 range and started out at that pace. In summary; at two miles I was hot and at three miles I wasn't sure I would finish the race. I suffered and I think a lot of people suffered. There were bodies strewn about the sidewalk in total carnage. Criox-rouge was non-stop and I really just took one mile at a time. The last two loops (total of four) was just crisis management. I have never had to walk aid stations before. Let me rephrase that; I ran from aid station to aid station the last two loops. They were well prepared with hoses and sponges. Thank god my Asics have drains in the bottom! Never noticed before until I dried the insole outside of the shoe after the race. They really saved my feet, as I yelled "la tete" and they proceeded to spray my shoes directly with the hose.

Anyway, I finished:

333rd overall
4th American
61st AG
11:02:50

I think I will stick to Lake Placid for next year. The top racers were all from that area - Nice, Spain, Italy, etc. Those guys had incredible bike time and were still able to run in that heat. I guess that's their playground and it is a great one! I could move there tomorrow! Sorry for the long post. I will post again later with some details about other parts of the trip.

Cheers!

-Kyle

Ironman France Race Week

It always comes fast. The race is officially less than 6 days away. We leave for Nice on Wednesday. The adrenaline is running high, as this will be my first race outside the US. I always struggle with this week, because of the slow down. I continue to change my clock, as tomorrow night I will try to wake at 3:30am and only be off France time by 3 hours.

Last weeks numbers are about what you'd expect: 6400, 126 and 40. I missed a bike on Saturday, but it just doesn't matter anyway. All of the miles are easy, with the exceptions of some intervals in the heat, but I am acclimated to summer weather now, even though it has been mild in Nice the last few days.

This training period has gone very well. Probably my best ever and on less bike miles. I am also very fit; about 148lbs @ 5% body fat.

I want to thank all of my team-mates, training partners, friends and family for supporting me. The pressure is definitely on to qualify for the world championships. It may be possible with 8 slots going in my age group.

I am hoping results and maybe tracking? will be on either:

http://ironman.com/ironmanlive

or

http://www.ironmanfrance.com/

click on English version tab.

Thanks everyone! I will post a race report when I can.

-Kyle

Pat Bell Time Trial

I'm now into my second and second to last week of tapering. We leave one week from Wednesday for Nice. Wow, that came fast!

Last week I did the 11.7 mile Pat Bell TT in Southboro. I figured with three weeks before the race, I could do an all-out anerobic effort on the bike to test my speed. Boy, what a surprise! I can't figure out what is going on with me, but I was just flying and it came easy. 26.3 mph average! Not bad for an endurance guy. I think I started 2nd or 3rd to last with everyone going on 30 second intervals and finished about 2 minutes in front of everyone. 4 out of the 5 folks there are just out for a workout - I know, but I'm at the top of the list for 2008. We'll see how long the roadies let a triathlete have the fastest time in 2008! I'm sure they will be out to beat that time this week. And speaking of, we are going through a heat wave here in New England. Everyone is asking me if I'm out training in this weather and the answer is YES. I look at it as a good opportunity to acclimate to these temperatures, as I may have to race in this weather in two weeks. Today's 8 mile run was in the mid-90s and sunny.

I am trying to change my body clock which means up every morning at 5:am and I am going to try to get to 3:30am next week. On EST the race is at 11:30pm, so anything I can do to get closer to that time I am going to try. Unfortunately, I have been tired and a you-know-what and ... now for the stupid stuff. Two injuries; neither related to IM training. (1) I was pumping up my tubular disc wheel, which is diificult to do; you need to hold the "crack pipe" on the valve and pump. It can take up to 14 bars, which is almost impossible to pump and my right hand slipped off and the pump handle sent a blow to my ribs. I heard a pop and then two days later, it only hurt when I took a deep breath and tried to sleep anywhere near on my right side, ughh. Same pain as when I cracked my rib diving for the line drive at short stop. (2) Running sneakers + wet grass on soccer field = sprained wrist. The other coach and I covering the two open position so we could have a two full sides to scrimmage. I went to take a shot and slipped. Luckily, I have aero bars on both my bikes, because it has been KILLLING me. That's the only position I can ride in without pain. I need a wrist brace or something to immobilize it, but today the pain is a bit less. I hope to get 45 minutes in pool tonight and that will make me happy. Else I'll kick, do one-armor no-arm drills and try again on Wednesday.

This weeks numbers. Some volume, but mostly low intensity.

M: S-3200, B-32, R-10 (6min/4min fartlek)
Tu: B-28 (11.7 patebelltt), R-10
W: S-2600, spin 2omin, R-5
Th: B-39, R-8
F: S-2.4mi, spin 2+hours, R-3
Sa: B-20, R-6
Su: B-52mi

Totals:
S: 10K yards
B: 218mi
R: 42

The swim was a two loop with friend Karen and co. (co. for the first loop). She wanted to get the open distance in (1:15). She is doing Lake Placid for the first time in July. I did most of the pulling. That's my longest swim in a while and no more of that during taper. This week I will begin to shut things down and try not to inflect dumb injuries upon myself. Other than that, everything is great and I am ready to go!

-Kyle

Training Period Ends - Taper Begins

The hard part is over and I am now into taper phase. I will continue to bike and run, but distance and intensity will be lower. I will also add some rest days to make sure I am doing the right thing. This picture is a section of the bike course in the Alps. It is good to see that a couple of the guys are actually riding tri-bikes, as most just ride on road bikes with clip-ons. Anyway, the pre-race excitement has begun and I am starting to prepare for travel as we will be flying to Nice in a lttle over two weeks time - wow that came fast! - need to get ready!

I am very pleased with my training. Things have gone really well and I feel good. This week's long ride was out to the Quabbin area in Central Mass. with lots of hills and flats! When I say flats, I'm not talking about flat road, I'm talking about tires! We had three flats within 52 miles of riding! (luckily I had none) - it made for a long day. We covered 100mi in 7 hours! and we never really stopped except to refill bottles and fix flats. I think the storms the day before washed a lot of junk onto the road. Big thanks to team-mates Dave for the route planning, Steve for pushing me and Gary for hanging in there. It really was a scenic ride with lot's of climbing. I really appreciated having the company. I solo'd a 3 mi ran-out-of-time transition run, followed by a 23mi LSD the next day in which I continuously had to hold back. I modestly have to say the 100mi ride felt like nothing and it felt good to do some 22-23 mph surges with Steve to put pressure on the legs. The running is just coming easy for me. The 23 miles went by fast and I finished without really being tired. I am probably running better now than in April, so maybe it was just meant to be and is promising for Nice. The numbers this week are good. I could've used another long bike, but with the thunderstorms this week and all, I will just get in a medium bike this week. Showing up to the pool just as it was being evacuated because of lightning was also a bummer, but I managed to get the swim in later anyway (in between storms).

The numbers:

• M: Well deserved and planned rest day
• Tu: S-3K, B-8 (4x Flagg Hill), R-10 (4x1mi)
• W: B-100, R-3 (trans)
• Th: R-23mi (7:45 pace LSD)
• F: S-1K (open no WS), B-26, R-7mi
• Sa: B-18, R-3
• Su: S-3K (fast Walden loop), B-12, R-4

Totals:

• Swim-7K
• Bike-164mi
• Run-50mi

It (again) seems like a lot of running, but I really needed to do the long-bike/transition run then long-run the next day thing. I think this ranks in importance over the mileage and is key for a good ironman. All of the distance covered over multiple consecutive days.

The body feels excellent. No real issues and I will continue to take good care.

I am also trying to change my body clock, which is going to be a test. I am gradually getting earlier and earlier, and will try to split the time difference before flying out. I think it is best because I want to avoid being jet lagged the day of the race. Anyone have any suggestions?

The race is less than 20 days!

-Kyle

Final Weeks Of Ironman France Training

This coming week will wrap up the hard training period for IM France. It really came fast and I look forward to the trip. It is also costing me a boat-load of money, but this is my (and the family's) first trip to Europe and who knows when that will ever happen again. It is going to be very exciting and a trip that I think we will reminisce about it for several years! I also look forward to the challenge of racing in the alps. It will be interesting to see how I match up against an international field of athletes, with only 7 Kona slots last year in my AG. It is going to take a great race to get me to Hawaii in October. Anyway, I have been training hard and once again, I am fit. I measured in at about 6% body fat. My weight is still around 150 - although after all the eating and drinking yesterday at John's cookout - we'll see if those numbers still hold up. I also took the day off yesterday - see, there is still hope! It was due and planned, because I have not taken a day since the marathon recovery in April - almost a full month! The numbers last week are good with plenty of bike miles. I could feel it in my legs toward the end of the week. I am running real well, so I think I will maintain focus on bike miles again this week. I do need to get a long run in though, boy I don't think I've had an LSD in weeks now.

Last week's numbers:

M: B-10, R-10, S-3K (Kim's killer workout, with timed water treading, Ughh!)

Tu: B-28, R-10 (8x3min on/off @ 10K pace moderate/hard)

W: B-53, R-5

Th: B-54, R-8

F: B-44, S-2500 (open water, fast Walden loop with Calvin)

Sa: B-36, R-5, S-1K

Su: B-40, R-5

Totals:

Swim: 6500yds

Bike: 275mi

Run: 43mi

A very good bike week. This is probably going to be my largest bike week. Does not compare to IM Lake Placid training with several 300+mi and one 350mi week, but I don't seem to be having the issues that I had last year. A June race is impossible for that kind of mileage seeing how the snow has only been gone for 8 weeks. I still have some tightness in my lower back, but I am doing some yoga and stretches, which has made it feel a lot better - almost gone.

One more hard week! Off for my run!

-Kyle

Wow! What a week - The Kancamagus Ride

Wow! What a fantastic day pal John and I had in the White Mountains! I did not take this picture (no camera), but we had a spectacular day with temps around 70 deg. and clear blue skies. The views of the mountains were absolutely great. This ride ranks on top of my best rides ever - I spent a lot of time gazing at the scenary. There was no real agenda for me on this trip except to get as much climbing as possible in prep for Ironman France. I would get the same amount of climbing as in the Alps broken into two, on the out and back of the Kancamagus highway. We made short work of the first climb leaving from Linclon center - I think we made the top of the notch in 50 minutes. We also made short work of the entire Kancamagus and continued on West Side Road all the way up to Attitash. They had the road torn up for resurfacing, so we came back and stopped and had lunch in N. Conway. This was something I had never done before and it was great! What was the name of that Deli? Great food and it gave the feeling of the whole bike touring thing. It also gave me a recharge as I have had no shortage of training or any rest heading into this ride. John on fresh legs cranked back up the to the notch - I was really feeling the climb. No switch backs or breaks on the return climb, just straight climbing to the top. It is also more total altitude on the return climb, making it the most difficult climb I have ever done - mission accomplished! I am gaining more confidence for tackling the Alps! The one negative; I was hoping for more technical decent. The switch-backs really slow down the bike, so I could let it just fly, but I'm told I can't do that on the decent on the IMF course.

Ride Stats:
101mi, 4871' ascent, 4890' decent, max alt. 2855, avg. speed 18.5mph
30 Minute transition run 4+ miles (around 7 min pace)

I also ran the Stow 5K on Sunday in support of my friend Kendra who puts this on ever year. Numbers:
18:22, 5th overall, 1st master, pace 5:55 - not bad for all endurance training the last 5 weeks

Last week's numbers:

M: Swim -3K yds, Bike-20, Run-10
Tu: Bike-28, Run-8 (6x800 @ 6:00 pace hard)
W: Bike-101, Run-4+
Th: Swim-3K yds, Run-12
F: Swim-3K yds, Bike-32
Sat: Bike-12 (easy), Run-10
Su: Bike-16, Run-9 (5K race)

Totals:
Swim: 9K yards
Bike: 200 miles
Run: 53 miles

Some slight soreness in the lower back - only bothers me when I sit at my desk or in the car. I will continue to do extensions until it is gone (also minimize time at desk and in car). Yeah, yeah, I know - too much running. I will focus on BIKE miles this week, as there is no plan for a long ride after 3 weeks in a row (80, 101 and 101). All quality workouts though, all the way around, so I have no complaints about the training. I still need to get cloer to 250-300 miles with only a few weeks to go! Ughh!

Exactly one month until Ironman France!

-Kyle

All Out Training and Prep-Race

Yup, once again, this blog has been left for dead. There's only so much time in a day. I have been off training all out in solitary mode once again. I missed last week's post and didn't record the numbers. but I had a good ride up Mt. Wachusett and around central Mass for 80+ miles with no shortage of climbing. I also ran the Westford 10K on Sunday in 39min flat.

Yesterday I did the season opener in Hopkinton. Great Race. It was good to do all out fast stuff after nearly 5 weeks (other than the marathon and 10K) of doing absolutely no speed work. The one thing I would have done different was to take 5 seconds to put socks on after the (cold!!!)swim. I could not feel my feet during the run and it definitely impeded me. Fun race though, a definite for next year (RD - please move race until after mother's day).

Race results:

14th Overall 169 KYLE BOWERS BOXBOROUGH MA
Total: 1:01:39 7th EOPENM
Swim 1/4mi: 39th 9:02
T1: 1:09
Bike 11.8mi: 11th 33:04
T2:0:48
Run 3.1mi: 15th 17:38

Here's last week's numbers:

M: S-3200yds, Bike-20mi, Run-11mi
T: Bike-28mi, Run-7mi
W: Bike-101mi (3x25mi TT Oak Hill loop with 6mi recovery loop), Run-1mi transition
Th: S-1mi (Walden Pond), Run-14mi
F: S-2800, Spin-1/2 hour, Run-6mi
Sa: 14mi Tri course ride (rest day)
Sunday Race: 1/4mi, 11.8mi, 3.1 mi

Total: Swim-8300yd, Bike-184mi, Run-44mi

I am happy with the numbers. The body feels good, no issues. I gave myself rest after the killer ride workout on Wednesday - nothing short of being tortured. Total of 5:38 on the bike. My three loops avg: 20, 19.5 and 19+. I will have bigger miles this week now that the race is out of the way. Wednesday I will be riding with John up the Kancamagus Highway for some deadly climbs. This will be my first time riding the K and I hear it is a brutal climb. I will post some numbers on altitude next week. This is the only place in NE where I know there are switchbacks.

Cheers!

-Kyle

Boston Marathon Race Report

Wow, what a great day for the spectators! All in all a pretty good day. I was out fast with the studs at a fast pace for the first half. No complaints, I was right at the pace I wanted to be at - it was all or nothing on this one. I laid it all out on the course, shooting for that sub-2:50. I wanted to break my 2:53 PR. A little bit warmer than expected, maybe slowed me down (and everyone else) in the mid-section of the course. My legs got a little tight at the downhill before 16 and got worse. A bit of a struggle 21-24, but with two to go I pushed hard, ending up at 2:58. 2nd fastest marathon. I'm happy and will take it. Statistically, a lot of runners had the same slower half as I did, no surprise. I think we are still not acclimated to this warm weather. Happy recovery everyone. IM training resumes next week. This is me at the 30K mark - right before heartbreak hill. -Kyle

Good Luck Boston Marathon Runners!

It looks to be an ideal day with cool temperatures this year. I am sure this will result in some real fast times.

Good luck team-mates, friends and everybody running! and thanks to all cheering on!

I wish everybody a gerat race and go for it! No holding back.

This is the year!

-Kyle

Boston Marathon Taper Week

All the training finally comes to an end... for the marathon that is anyway! This last week was also real good. I have no issues, nothing hurting, broken or falling off. This week is always difficult for me, because the addiction is so strong and when I stop, there is always a lot of energy that begins to build up. A lot of people are asking me what my goal is this year. I am sticking with breaking 2:50 and beating Lance Armstrong. Two goals! I read the Boston Globe article... oh boy is he going to enjoy his first Boston Marathon experience! I know that 2:50 is a big goal, but with me it never ends. If I do break 2:50, next year I will coming to the line to run 2:45 - it never stops!! Anyway, I should probably just be greatful that my 42.5 yr old body is extemely fit and I am healthy. As I sit here today, I probably have never been as fit as I am now (just like seen on TV!). I still manage to balance all three; body, mind and family. I won't mention the "W" word.

My race day plan is to try - TRY - to keep it even through the first half @ 6:25 pace. I think it is virtually impossible to maintain through the hills, but if I can average 6:34 for the second half, I will hit my goal. Of course if that fails, I will take anything in the low to mid-2:50's. I think I have successfully caught up to where I was last year - I just need to run a smart race. Even with the distractions in January (the W word again) and the extreme New England winter weather, I have trained the hardest EVER before the marathon this year! My run miles may not be the biggest, but I have continued to train hard at all three disciplines because I can. We'll see if it pays off! This must be the year! I will post all of my long runs later in the week to see if this was the biggest.

Anyway, enough psycho-babble. Here are last week's numbers day-by-day:

M: 25 bike, 10 run
T: 28 bike, 10 run (5x1 mi @ 10K pace)
W: 60 bike (MA to NH), 5 run
Th: 2400 swim, 16 bike, 10 mile (2x20 min tempo HARD)
F: Rest Day 12 bike, 5 run
Sa: bike 18, run 12
Su: bike 28 (1xloop Oak Hill 19.4 mi/hr + wu/wd), 6 run

Total: S-2400, B-187mi, R-58 mi

All of the bike miles are outside! on the beater bike of course (with my spinning wheel still attached). I am on the bike again today for the commute++ - that makes 8 days in a row outside on the bike! I won't have much bike time this week though. I also ran 10 mi today easy. Today would have been a perfect race day - cloudy in the 50s. Let's hope for a great day - we are definitely due! overdue for that matter!

I'll post later in the week.

12 IN A ROW

This will be my 12th consecutive Boston Marathon this year and 26th marathon. Things have come back together this last week. My weight is way down to 150 lbs and continues to drop. I will probably try to gain a few pounds back before The race. I have good numbers last week with no issues:

Swimming: 8000 yards
Biking: 160 miles (1 outside 35mi, 1 megahard spin @ BSC)
Running: 75 miles (1 track - 2x {4x800 @ 6:00 pace}, 1 tempo 6 mi @ 6:25 pace)
Cross Training: 1 weights

It's amazing how used to the trainer I've become. It's almost bizarre that I have come to such ritualistic behavior of riding that thing every day. We are in for some spring weather FINALLY and I am on the bike outside now two days in a row, with more warm days coming. I will finally get in a long ride in this week. IM France is coming quick and next week is the taper for Boston, so I am really feeling the pressure. Never again! Two big races like this so close together!

My wife has managed to connect me with a fellow Ironman France athlete training in sunny California. Jenn http://seejenntri.blogspot.com//will be doing here first IM and is with Team In Training. Unlike my selfish racing for myself, her goal is to raise $15K, so any contributions are appreciated. It will be great to hook up with Jenn and hopefully meet up with some other Americans in France. Anyone doing IM France or knows anyone doing the race, have them contact me at lp_ironman07@yahoo.com.

Cheers!!

BIB #1804 112th Boston Marathon

I am totally psyched to be starting in corral 1 this year! It will be wierd to start actually seeing the starting line (if I get there early enough). It had been a very hard training season. The NE weather has not cooperated and I am just getting to run trails in the last few weeks. I have pushed as hard as possible in March and have paid dues by getting the flu and a GI infection that I am still shaking. I may have pushed too hard and paid, but I have continued to train though it - the addiction is too strong and only yesterday did I take what could be considered a rest day. The last week has not been fun and I look forward to the warm weather approaching later this week. My numbers are still okay this week: 65mi running with one day off (no speed workouts), plenty of bike time ~ 150 miles and two easy swims (4200yards). The final few weeks approach for Boston and I will down shift long runs and focus on speed. I still want to keep my mileage high though, as always. Runs will be broken into doubles to keep the numbers high.
I hope everyone is healthy and injury free. We are odds on for a good race day this year!

-Kyle

Race Report New Bedford 1/2 Marathon

No Nor'easter made this a typical race day in New Bedford; cool in the mid-30s and breezy. Not nearly as windy as last year. Once again, a big crowd with some top NE runners making the trip to whaling town. I opted to run in a coolmax long-sleeve, shorts and gloves, but could've easily gone with a spandex tee. I had the gloves off my hands after mile one. Managed to hold 6:15s through mile 8. The next few miles are tough though, as they go along the ocean and make for some pretty breezy conditions, especially at the turn to head for mile 10.

Here are the numbers:

1:23:09 (6:21 pace) - gun to chip time 1:23:19 - why was I so far from the line??

199th overall, 29th AG

team 6th (I scored 4th behind Vitelli, Stumbras the machine and Bernie O'Reilly, then Kaiser)

My PR of last year stands 1:22:08. The good news is that I am closing in on where I was last year very quickly. In the last week or so I have started to get that feeling again, which is good news. I believe if I work hard enough, I can actually cross where I was last year and take this thing to a new level. I have five weeks until the marathon.

Here are last week's numbers:

Run: 59 miles (1-track, 1-race)

Bike: 6 hours (1.5 outside)

Swim: 8500 yards

All in all a good week. Sore lower back made good timing for small taper before the race.

Congrats to my BAA, MRC team-mates and friends that ran!

Big Training Numbers

A lot of people are looking for inspiration this winter and are curious about my training schedule, so I'll post this once a week for folks to gander at.

Running: 73mi (1-track, 1-LSD (20mi) and 1-tempo) - above avg.
Swimming: 8500 yds (approx., but probably more, 3d) - about avg.
bike: 6 hours ~ 96mi (1-outside) - below avg.
Weights: 1
Cross Train/S&C: 1/2 day easy downhill ski

Overall a pretty good week. I am focused on marathon training into the first half of this week. I'll then bike/swim later to give my legs a rest for the New England Half Marathon Team Championships this weekend.

-Kyle

Sunrise Winter Duathlon

My second one of these this year and ever. I never thought I would ever do a XC ski race. After skate skiing for the first time over up at Waterville, I figured out I should rent a pair of these for the race and it made a big difference. This race was put on by my pals at Channel Mulitsport http://www.channelmultisport.com/ and was a lot of fun. A definte race for next year. I think I'll drop for a real pair of skis too. Don't forget to put the machine screws into the bottom of your flats, as the run is XC style over snow base and was deep this time.

Overall Place: 19th
Total time: 1:08:56
Run 1 (4K): 18:57 (7th)
ski (6K): 31:06 (30th)
Run2 (4K): 18:53 (4th)

Old Fashioned 10 Miler

Race Report:

Knowing I am no where near where I was last year at this point (1:02:28, 6:15), I set a goal for anything under 65 minutes. I have also been training crazy hard (no big surprise) trying to get myself back into shape. I may have over done it, as I was feeling very exhausted on Saturday and didn't really do much.

The race actually went well. I felt pretty good running and was fairly consistent in the 6:20 to 6:30 range with the exception of downhill mile 2 (6:10). There are a lot of hills in this race, so I knew that I would run closer to 6:30 on the tougher miles. The day also featured a tough head-wind in the first couple and last few miles.

Time: 1:04:44
Pace: 6:28
Place: 68th
AG Place: 17th

Overall I am happy with this prep-race. I did a post race shlog of about 3.5 miles and felt very tired. I felt tired yesterday too and a little bit today. I will do the track workout tonight and distance tomorrow, then take a couple days off and get ready for this weekend's long bomb on the Boston course.

I hope everyone is staying healthy and getting into shape! It has been a tough NE winter to train this year and I hope we will get some better weather here leading towards Boston. I will also try to get back into the swing with this blog as many have commented that I am not keeping it up like I should! Please leave a comment if you visit, so others know you've been by (I changed the comment field so you can comment anonymously). I will try to get with the program! Now off to MIT to get those hard 800s in with my BAA team mates!

-Kyle

Finally Some Time To Train

I'm no where near where I was this time last year, but I am starting to catch up. January was an up and down month with many distrations, but I still managed to build-up running mileage. Also, I am religeously on the trainer for one hour each morning. I don't want to make that same mistake from last year (not enough time on the bike through April). IM France comes one month earlier than Lake Placid, so there is no time to screw around. I must bike train and marathon train in parallel. The two big races are:

112th BAA Boston Marathon April, 21 2008

IronMan France Nice June 22, 2008

February and March I will be training absolutely as hard as I can. As you can see there is no time to train between post-marathon recovery and tapering for IM France. I am back swimming too. I need to get to three days a week - definitely putting more emphasis on the bike training this year, I am not too worried about swim training. It should be interesting swimming in the mediteranean.

Anyway, the body seems to be healthy and ready to go. I need to get to my race weight, but there is still plenty of time.

I hope everyone is healthy, getting back to shape and focused on their races this year.

Cheers,

-Kyle